


Just Like The Butterfly, I Too Will Awaken In My Own Time

by ChaoticNeutral



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Angst, Akumatized Marinette Dupain-Cheng, F/M, Guilt, Hawk Moth is an idiot, Nooroo tries, Sleepwalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-02-24
Packaged: 2019-03-23 07:07:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13782339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticNeutral/pseuds/ChaoticNeutral
Summary: To impede Hawk Moth's goal, Master Fu only bestows the Black Cat Miraculous while keeping the Ladybug hidden.Fortunately, the kwami are nothing if not determined and Nooroo is no exception. But when Nooroo takes matters into his own hands, the effects result in an uncertain future for Marinette and an internal crisis for Adrien.





	Just Like The Butterfly, I Too Will Awaken In My Own Time

**Author's Note:**

> In which for a world where only Adrien received a Miraculous, Marinette is akumatized and that's actually (sort of) a good thing, even if Adrien doesn't think so.

 

* * *

 

If there was one saving grace of his situation, Nooroo mused, it was at least that his corrupted wielder was a fool. So self assured in his plan, he didn’t stop to consider things outside of his laughably narrow view of the world.

 

He did not question what he was told.

 

And he did not ask for what he wasn’t.

 

It was no wonder his plans failed. Though certainly the appearance of the young hero helped, the man’s plans were doomed from the start. What did he think would happen? That he could throw a fit like a child and that the other Miraculous would be offered up to appease him? His terroristic attacks on the city to force the matter were little better than tantrums—fitting, given the pathetic rants he would make upon his loss. And yet he never adjusted his tactics or tried anything different in the face of any adversary.

 

It was an insult in the worst possible way.

 

A butterfly is an instrument of change, of transformation and growth. Any good butterfly would be aware of the world and expect the change and chaos that came with it. Guide it, even. The ability to create heroes and inspire others was the very core function of the butterfly.

 

But this…facsimile of a butterfly wanted to control the chaos and instill an absolute order. No change. No inspiration. No life—not true life, at any rate.

 

It made him sick. This man was no true butterfly.

 

Which is why it was such a good thing that his wielder wasn’t nearly as wise as he seemed to want to believe he was. As much as the butterfly kwami hated his situation, that was honestly for the best. Best that his user was so out of sync with the butterfly. Best that he was so arrogant and self assured. Best that he was so utterly _stupid_ as to not look beyond what was presented to him.

 

Because if he DID question what he was told, he would have noticed that Nooroo had said he could create “Champions”.

 

And if he DID ask for what he wasn’t told, he would know that just because Nooroo told him he could create Champions, that certainly didn’t mean that Nooroo couldn’t create his own as well.

 

The Cat needed help. Why the Ladybug was not called, he didn’t know, but Nooroo could not simply leave things as they were. He could not leave the Cat to try to hold back the attacks alone. And how could he simply stand by and do nothing in his own defense when his powers were being misused in such a way?

 

For all that this man controlled him, he didn’t control ALL of him. And while Nooroo couldn’t stop him from abusing his power to create monsters, that hardly meant that he could prevent the stolen kwami from aiding the Cat in his own way.

 

A Champion of his own design. To protect the Cat and eventually to rescue Nooroo himself. This was all he could do.

 

It would be…difficult. And certainly different from how his powers should work. It was meant to be a mutual agreement between two parties in order to accomplish a singular goal. This case was different, however. He wouldn’t have a user this time to act through in order to maintain the link or direct the Champion once one is chosen. Furthermore, he would have to be more subtle about this, lest he risk his current ‘master’ catching on. He couldn’t be too active or involved. He wouldn’t be able to interact directly which his chosen per his usual or preferred means, but he didn’t need to for this. He just needed a single Champion to be instilled with simple commands to protect the Cat chosen and the power to follow through with those commands.

 

With the limited time and resources he could spare, Nooroo poured as much of his power as he could into a single butterfly. Fragile in strength but strong in presence, he sent it off to find someone who would best be able to protect the young hero, all while trying to not feel too guilty for the fate of the Champion to be.

 

After all, choice and regret of the various Champions didn’t matter much to Hawk Moth. And Nooroo lacked the power or ability to afford to act any differently at this time. As much as he may not like it, the Champion had to be the best fit for this situation. Regardless of any choice of accepting the role of the Champion or the memory afterwards. 

 

His Champion must be made. Even if she didn’t necessarily agree. Even if she failed to remember her actions as such. His Champion would be strong and dependable. She would need to make the young hero’s well being the priority in any engagement. He couldn’t risk a battle of wills or a person who would use his already limited power to act out of self preservation or selfishness instead of his intended aid to his young would-be rescuer. He already found the perfect person to bestow this purpose onto, even as it made his heart clench to do so. It would be wrong to alter any person in such a way, but…

 

Consent…morals…

 

He could not let them interfere here. He was limited enough as it was. And without Ladybug active, there was no real counterpart for the Cat Miraculous to fully utilize his potential. The young hero could fight the corrupted Champions—possibly even fight Hawk Moth directly if they were to meet, but to do so alone would take too long and the casualties would be much too great even if he were to survive.

 

His Champion could mitigate that. Even without full capability of an actual Miraculous user, she would still be an ally in the cause of Nooroo’s freedom. His strength went into his lone Champion, but whatever the result would not be able to act alone. And Nooroo would not be able to guide this new Champion sufficiently enough while under Hawk Moth’s control. She would be reliant on the Cat for direction.

 

But if the two could work together, then maybe…

 

Maybe it might all just work out?

 

* * *

 

“This isn’t going to work out.”

 

“Kid—”

 

“You saw her, Plagg! She was just…standing there!”

 

It was like working with a doll.

 

A pretty, plastic, human-sized doll.

 

Adrien had enough to being treated like one himself to deal with someone else who practically was one. And it was a shame, because he had been looking so forward to this, too.

 

“When you said I’d be getting a partner, I was expecting…an actual person. You know, someone who talks back? Has a personality? SMILES?!”

 

“I already told you, kid: she can’t.”

 

In his defense, the cat kwami HAD warned Adrien ahead of time that this partnership was going to be weird, but there was hearing him SAY it and then actually SEEING it. And what he was seeing….

 

He didn’t like it. At all.

 

His new partner was pretty enough, sure. Dressed in ribbon and silk, pale blues and soft lavenders. Dark hair tied back into a bun and a face he would call cute if she would actually…well…emote. But that was the whole problem, wasn’t it?

 

She didn’t smile. She didn’t speak. He wasn’t sure she even blinked. She barely even reacted to anything until an akuma was present, at which point she’d charged in and nearly given him a heart attack. He’d spent more of the battle worried she’d get killed rather than looking for the object the akuma was possessing. And after the battle was over and she did…whatever it was to the butterfly that was supposed to stop it, she didn’t even do a thing afterwards when he’d yelled at her for putting herself in danger.

 

She simply stared at him blankly. Heck, he wasn't even sure she was looking at him so much as through him. She didn't reply to his questions, didn't respond to his words, and never batted an eye at his very well justified fury or concern for her safety. She never said a word to him and it was only after he'd tired himself out and the akuma was well and truly gone that she even moved, and that was to leave back to...wherever she came from. That more than anything hit Adrien the most.

 

She wasn't there with him. She was just…there.

 

Kind of like how he felt most of the time, not that Adrien really wanted to think about that right now.

 

“She’s here to protect you and your Miraculous.”

 

“Oh great, like one silent bodyguard wasn’t enough.”

 

This was a disaster. He’d been so excited at first about the prospect of having someone to work with. He’d been hoping for…hell, he didn’t even know anymore. A partner? A friend? A comrade in arms and not just the punching kind? A Robin to his Batman—though it seemed she certainly had him beat in the ‘dark and broody’ department, and she didn’t even brood!

 

It was like playing a video game with the AI. But she was supposed to be a person, wasn’t she?

 

“What is wrong with her?”

 

"Look, Nooroo did what he could, but she is still technically an akuma even if she's not a corrupted one like the others." Plagg shrugged, uncertain how to best explain. “It’s kind of like sleepwalking—”

 

The boy spun on his kwami in horror. “You mean she doesn’t even know she’s doing it?!”

 

“Well,” Plagg hesitated, uncomfortable with the entire situation just as much as his wielder was. “No, not really.”

 

Adrien threw up his hands. “Well, that’s just great! I’ve got a zombie for a partner!”

 

“She’s not dead!”

 

“She might as well be!" Because even the akumas he had to face had more life to them than this one who was supposed to be on his side. "She can’t speak! She can’t interact! She won’t respond unless I tell her to! Can she do anything on her own?!”

 

“Hey, she’s keeping you safe, kid." Plagg hissed. Of course Adrien knew that, but it hardly helped matters. "Nooroo is at least trying to help that much by ensuring you have someone on your side to protect you and keep Hawk Moth from one of the items of ultimate power he’s after that’ll undo reality.”

 

“But she doesn’t even know she’s doing it!” Adrien shouted, furious. “Does she even have a choice?”

 

“Look, even in that state, people don’t do things they wouldn’t do." The cat god explained. "Like any other akuma, she wouldn’t be doing any of this if she wouldn’t have been willing to were she awake.”

 

That really didn’t help. At all.

 

Adrien grimaced and gripped his head as he tried to hold down the growing turmoil of emotions. “And that makes it all right?"

 

It was sick. Like having a personal guard dog only the dog was a girl who was transformed against her will and coerced into protecting him and didn’t even know she was doing it. Hell, what would she think when she woke up after a fight with no idea what happened? How would she explain the blackouts and missing time? Or the injuries she was bound to get? It was no different from any of the akumatized victims he’d fought but at least THEY had the benefit of remembering what caused their blackouts and people to tell them what happened after they were returned to normal. This girl—whoever she was in real life—wouldn't even have that much because no one could know about her. She was stuck following him and obeying his orders because she has no real identity of her own to act on in this state. And the fact that this was specifically done to her just to help HIM only made it worse.

 

Plagg sighed. He got it, he did. And he certainly didn't like it anymore than Adrien did, but there was little other choice at this point. “It’s going to have to. Right now, this is all the help we’re getting.” Unless Master Fu decided to entrust someone with one of the other Miraculous, they had to take what they could get. At least until he got the chance to track down the old Guardian and give him a few choice words for sending him out alone instead of Ladybug or literally any other kwami that is actually able to release Nooroo's victims.

 

Adrien huffed and turned away. He didn’t like it. No, it was more than just ‘not like’. He hated it. And up until actually meeting this “partner” who couldn’t even be called a living being much less any sort of teammate on equal footing, he’d honestly thought there wasn’t much out there he could truly hate.

 

He already had enough people strategically placed in his life to watch over him under the claim of it being ‘for his own good’. Nathalie to manage his life, Gorilla to defend him from fangirls, even Chloe for companionship—all supposedly for ‘his sake’. But…at least they had a choice, even if it came with a hefty paycheck or fame of being connected to a popular model.

 

But this…was wrong.

 

Sadly, Adrien didn’t have a say in whether his partner was as good as any akuma victim herself. He didn’t even get to know who she was outside of the dreamlike state the mask put her in to protect him so he could at least…check up on her or apologize or SOMETHING! Though what kind of apology could he make that would in any way measure up to what he’d unwittingly cost her? ‘Hey, sorry about you being stuck as my bodyguard whenever whatever mystical force you’re mistaking as narcolepsy kicks in, hope we can be friends?'

 

…That didn’t sound nearly so stupid before he actually thought it out.

 

He sighed.

 

And here he thought being a superhero was supposed to give him more freedom and control in his life. Forget his dad, even magical forces seemed to want to smother him.

 

* * *

 

Chat Noir gave a small sigh of relief as yet another akuma was vanquished and the possessed person restored to normal. And with only 12 shattered windows and a broken door this time—a new record!

 

His ring started beeping, indicating his cue to leave or risk outing his identity to all of one unconscious person and a…semi-conscious one. He eyed his akumatized partner keeping the corrupted butterfly perfectly preserved in the mass of ribbon she wielded as she attempted to purify it—a rather strange process, but not one that really required his presence to complete.

 

“Well, this has been paw-some, but I guess there’s nothing left to do now that this akuma is all wrapped up.” He quipped, but wasn’t really feeling it and turned to head out. Maybe try to plan out another way to sneak out and actually attend a normal school for a day instead of—

 

“…heh…”

 

He froze. It was so faint he’d barely heard it, but it was there. That was a—

 

He spun around to face his ‘partner', seeing the corners of her lips were turned upward and an overall…softer expression than the blank look she’d had up to that point.

 

“…heh heh…”

 

He gaped. She’d done it again. She’d…well, he couldn’t call it a full laugh given how soft and quiet it was, but he didn’t care because it was technically A laugh and she NEVER laughed. Ever.

 

But she had. Twice. Because of him.

 

“Did you just—?”

 

Almost immediately, her expression changed back to the hardened blank look she always seemed to wear and it was like the moment never even happened.

 

He didn’t care, though. He saw it. He KNEW he did. And for the first time since their ‘partnership’ began, he felt hope.

 

Because even in this state, there was still a person in there. She could hear him and oh god, she liked his pun! Despite everything he’d been told and all that Plagg said that the 'lights were on and no one was home' in her head, he actually got her to laugh a little and she was smiling! It didn’t matter that the smile was barely a twitch of her lips, it was still something different from the blank look she’d been wearing up until then.

 

It was a sign. It had to be, because he was taking it as one regardless. He couldn't help the feeling of elation rising at the realization. Despite her state, despite the circumstances, she was alive. REALLY alive, and not just the zombified ‘undead’ type of alive he'd been steadfastly attempting to ignore in this ongoing conflict and internal crisis of morals vs necessity.

 

Maybe…maybe with enough time, she could wake up? Really wake up. And then he’d get to meet her for real.

 

He felt a strange sort of determination well up in him. Because even in these circumstances—no, ESPECIALLY in these circumstances, he wanted that. He wanted to get to know her—the her behind the mask when she’s actually aware. And if what Plagg said was true that even in this…state, she’s still only doing what she would be willing to do regardless…that meant she’d be willing to help him even outside of this dream state.

 

Maybe it just took a bit of nudging to get her there.

 

Well, no reason not to try, right? So he’d keep trying and draw her out of whatever weird fugue state she was stuck in while with him. Hopefully with enough time, he’d get to see more emotions and reactions—see more of the real her she couldn’t be right now. At least until the day could come that maybe he could finally meet her. A silly thought, maybe, but somehow, he was looking forward to that prospect.

 

And besides, she really had the cutest little smile.

 

He'd certainly like to see it again.

**Author's Note:**

> The idea was born out of a sleep-deprived state and the aspects are as follows:
> 
> 1\. Nooroo is able to create a single Champion outside of Hawk Moth's command who can be active at the same time as another akuma. For this idea, he chose Marinette for the purpose of protecting Chat Noir and stopping the corrupted akumas. 
> 
> 2\. Because the Butterfly Miraculous has been corrupted, any akumas that are made share the same effects as the victims from the show: dubious consent to being transformed to begin with and no memory of what happens afterwards. Despite being chosen by Nooroo directly as a non-corrupted Champion, Marinette is not exempt from this effect either. As such, she experiences "blackouts" each time there is an akuma attack and she is made to intervene as a Champion and has no memory of her actions during this time.
> 
> 3\. As stated, Marinette is in a strange fugue state as a Champion. She has awareness of her surroundings and the situation, but has no real personal identity or sense of "self" during that time. She simply has the directive to protect the Black Cat Miraculous, and follows that directive to the exclusion of anything else.
> 
> 4\. Adrien, being the poor sweet Sunshine Child he is, tries to change that.


End file.
